DEA/OPBAT PROPOSES NEW PROGRAM TO COMBAT SMUGGLING

S E C R E T NASSAU 001196 SIPDIS SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDING CCGDSEVEN MIAMI ADDEE) STATE FOR WHA/CAR RCBUDDEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2016 TAGS: PREL SMIG SNAR PINR HA BF SUBJECT: DEA/OPBAT PROPOSES NEW PROGRAM TO COMBAT SMUGGLING FROM HAITI Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Brent Hardt for reasons 1.4(b) a nd (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) representatives have proposed a new program to the Bahamian Government to improve cooperation in the interdiction of illegal migrants and drugs from Haiti, which could also serve as excellent source of V S A LIVE MSG intelligence to aid anti-smuggling efforts. The program would place DEA and Bahamian drug officers with Bahamian customs units on Great Inagua Island to gather information from each Haitian vessel passing Great Inagua through Bahamian waters. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (S) DEA has observed increased air traffic bringing drugs from Columbia, Venezuela and others to Haiti. Limited intelligence capabilities in Haiti, however, has hindered U.S. ability to determine the exit routes for these drug inflows. Geography and well-established migration routes makes it likely that The Bahamas is a primary route for drugs and migrants from Haiti to the U.S. ¶3. (S) A program currently under discussion with the Bahamian Government is intended to help fill intelligence gaps and improve DEA/OPBAT interdiction efforts in The Bahamas. For all Haitian boats passing Great Inagua island -- The Bahamas' closest island to Haiti along the primary shipping route -- the program would require Bahamian Customs to register boats, obtain fingerprints and other identifying data from crews, and conduct medical screenings. This information would create an intelligence database for use by DEA and Bahamian DEU. While detained for processing by Bahamian Customs, Creole-speaking officers from the DEA and the vetted Bahamian Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU),along with United States Coast Guard, would search vessels, recruit contacts and obtain better intelligence regarding suspect vessels. ¶4. (C) Current thinking suggests that this operations/intelligence program should include vetted, English-speaking Haitian DEU officers, who would train with Bahamian DEU and US DEA officers in Nassau. Separately, we have also proposed Haitian DEU training at the well-respected Bahamian Police College. Bahamian officials have been initially receptive, and are reviewing the concept internally. ¶5. (C) To further discuss the DEA proposal and develop program parameters, a meeting is planned for September including DEA, Bahamian DEU, Haitian DEU, Narcotics Affairs Officers from Haiti and The Bahamas, Coast Guard and the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force South. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: We believe that the training and working relationships flowing from this initiative would provide, not only valuable intelligence assets to penetrate narcotics trafficking in Haiti, but also information regarding migrant smuggling through The Bahamas. Post, in coordination with Embassy Port au Prince, suggests full support of the DEA-initiated program, including State participation in the September meetings. The program, functioning within the crucial resources provided by OPBAT, will help deter the narcotics trafficking and alien smuggling that weakens our own national security. END COMMENT. HARDT